Honolulu, Hawai‘i: The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i (ACLU) reviewed the final versions of HB 1552 and SB 192 – bills establishing a Hawai‘i Correctional Oversight Commission; a criminal justice institute to gather data on the Hawai‘i corrections system; and making some adjustments to how bail is handled in Hawai‘i. For years the ACLU has pushed for meaningful reform of our […]

The ACLU of Hawai‘i is proud to announce the addition to its team of Monica Espitia, Smart Justice Campaign Director. Monica will be leading the ACLU of Hawaii’s local, on-the-ground Smart Justice work. Hawai’i is participating in the ACLU’s nationwide Smart Justice campaign, an initiative focused on reducing mass incarceration by fifty percent while addressing […]

Honolulu, Hawai‘i: the ACLU of Hawai‘i (“ACLU”) has released a study showing that almost half of the people in Hawai‘i jails are pre-trial detainees who have not been convicted of the crimes for which they’ve been accused. This preliminary report, called “As Much Justice As You Can Afford – Hawaiiʻs Accused Face an Unequal Bail […]